Missouri Legislature Passes Bill to Repeal Earned Paid Sick Time Law

Quick Hits

• The Missouri paid sick time statute requires Missouri employers to provide earned paid sick time, starting May 1, 2025.
• On May 14, 2025, the Missouri General Assembly passed HB-567, which would repeal the paid sick time statute. If signed by the governor, the law will be repealed effective August 28, 2025.

Proposition A, which Missouri voters passed via a ballot measure on November 5, 2024, includes a provision that raises the state’s minimum wage as of January 1, 2025, and requires employers to begin providing earned paid sick time (PST) on May 1, 2025. In addition to repealing the state paid sick time law, HB-567 would amend the minimum wage statute.

The Missouri Paid Sick Time Law

Under the current paid sick time law, most Missouri employers must provide earned paid sick time to employees working in Missouri starting May 1, 2025. The law exempts employers that are federal, state, or local governments or political subdivisions of the state. The statute also excludes some categories of workers, such as volunteers, camp counselors, babysitters, golf caddies, some rail carrier employees, and retail employees of businesses with annual gross volume sales of less than $500,000. The law does not apply to employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that was in effect on November 5, 2024, until the CBA is amended, extended, or renewed.

The current PST law allows Missouri employees to:

• earn one hour of earned paid sick time for every thirty hours worked;
• use PST for an employee’s own illness or medical reasons, illness/medical reasons of an immediate family member, closure of the employer’s business or the employee’s child’s school, and absences due to sexual assault or domestic violence;
• use PST in increments of one hour;
• use up to fifty-six hours of PST for covered reasons;
• carry over up to eighty hours of unused PST at year-end; and
• use PST without discipline or retaliation for covered use.

Repealing the Missouri PST Statute

HB-567 passed without an emergency clause because the emergency clause was defeated in the Missouri House of Representatives when it did not receive the requisite two-thirds approval before moving to the Senate. The emergency clause would have allowed the repeal to become effective immediately upon signature by the governor. The bill would take effect on August 28, 2025.

If the bill is signed into law, there will be a seventeen-week period from May 1, 2025, to August 28, 2025, during which Missouri employers must comply with the current PST law. Many employers may want to implement a temporary policy to cover the period when the PST law is still in effect. For employers that have a paid-time-off (PTO) policy that meets all the requirements of the statute, no additional PTO policy is necessary.

Key Takeaways

Missouri employers must provide earned paid sick time to eligible Missouri employees while the law is in effect. If the governor signs HB-567, employers may want to implement a short-term policy to provide the required PST benefits from May 1, 2025, to August 28, 2025. Additionally, employers may want to consider how to use an existing PTO policy for short-term compliance and address what will happen to earned PST upon repeal of the law.

Ogletree Deakins’ Leaves of Absence/Reasonable Accommodation Practice Group and Kansas City and St. Louis offices will continue to monitor developments and will provide updates on the Leaves of Absence and Missouri blogs as additional information becomes available.

In addition, the Ogletree Deakins Client Portal provides subscribers with timely updates on state paid sick leave requirements. Premium-level subscribers have access to updated state policy templates. Snapshots and Updates are complimentary for all registered client users. For more information on the Client Portal or a Client Portal subscription, please reach out to clientportal@ogletree.com.

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